Phil worked out in the blasted trench today. I “helped” for part of it (as in, I added a feeble extra push while Phil strained away), and was impressed to see how very much strength was required to bend the heavy black plastic line.
At about 11am, Phil turned the water on. I think he intended to be cautious, and check the two outdoor junctions first. But the main shutoff valve inside was open, so I went in to check for leaks at that junction and found Jadon in the utility closet, standing with a grin, watching the water push out the air for the first time.
Thankfully, we were good on leaks. (I think the sink had a small one because some part of the faucet wasn’t screwed on all the way, but that was how it came from the manufacturer, and was simply a matter of tightening it down.)
An hour later, we had hot water, too!
And ice in the ice maker (though the first few batches looked pretty heavily laced with chemicals).
And a dishwasher that runs. I hadn’t bought any dishwashing detergent. I used the Dr. Bronner’s that we have, and Phil said that they looked clean. Great!
I spent an hour making dinner: a steak and hash meal. The steak turned hard and rubbery, and the boys didn’t appreciate the hash (kale, cauliflower, fried potatoes). That was too bad.
But after the meal was done, the space exploded in happiness.
For more than four years, if the dishes needed doing, I washed them away from the family. But today, I washed them with the family. Joe, perhaps a bit bored, was eager to help. I would clean off part of the counter, and he would wipe it down. We loaded the dishwasher together. And then I did some dishes and he did some dishes. “I like helping!” he said, multiple times.
And while we were happily busy together, Jadon sat in the recliner chair and held the baby, and Abraham and Isaiah played a high energy, giggling game of dog and master, or something. “That’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” said Isaiah.
And I got to be a part of it! And I got a clean kitchen out of it, too!
And may I just say that the enormous farm sink we have is a dream. When Phil and I first got married, we had an enormous sink, and I have missed it ever since we moved out of that house in 2002. (The next house had a custom kitchen and was configured in a way that would not allow for an enormous sink.) Today I put in the largest frying pans, the cookie sheet, multiple large pots … and they all fit! And were easy to clean!
Another fun thing: Phil hung up the baby’s Johnny-jump-up. Growing up, I remember singing to my siblings when they were in the Johnny-jump-up, and all the brothers since then have enjoyed bouncing. Because our door is rough-framed, Phil just took a piece of wood, screwed it up, and so has a little platform to attach the jumper. The baby appeared to enjoy it.
I found the fourth and final large Lego box in the storage trailer. We have Lego bits coming out our ears. Joe and I spent some time finding pieces for his special people set. We did a good job. He had been missing perhaps 2/3 of the needed pieces, but by days’ end, he was missing only maybe 15 smaller pieces.
The task before us now is to sort by color, with minifigures in their own category. We'll probably need to keep the boxes separated, too, as one is mostly old school Legos from Phil's childhood, one is special sets all mixed up from Boulder, and two boxes are a jumble of sets we've received since arriving here. It’s a bit addicting to sort, like a constant treasure hunt, or a bit of order imposed on a chaotic world.
how fantastic!
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